In 1923, committed citizens founded a local museum in Münnerstadt. It was housed in two rooms of the town hall and presented exhibits from the town's history. In the 1960s, the collection grew to such an extent that the available space was no longer sufficient. The museum found its current home in the Deutschordensschloss. At the same time, it was given the name Henneberg Museum to commemorate the Counts of Henneberg. They had made Münnerstadt a town in the 13th century and ruled the town at least partially until 1585.
Following the general renovation of the Deutschordensschloss, which was completed in 2004, the exhibition was completely redesigned, moving away from the traditional image of a museum of local history. The much-praised presentation has a modern design and thus forms an attractive contrast to the historical rooms. Under the motto RhönerLand and MünnerStadt, only a small part of the collection is on display in order to introduce visitors to the specific culture of the Rhön and the eventful history of Münnerstadt in a didactic way. The tour takes up almost the entire second floor of the building with an area of around 600 square meters.
Topics include living conditions in the Rhön, Münnerstadt's heyday in the late Middle Ages under the rule of the Counts of Henneberg, the importance of crafts and guilds, the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, which is still recounted every year in the well-known Münnerstadt Heimatspiel, life in the 19th century "school and office town", the impact of the historical events of the 20th century in Münnerstadt and much more. Highlights for many visitors are a complete pharmacy interior from the 19th century and a drugstore from the early 20th century.
This permanent presentation is complemented by special exhibitions that shed light on individual aspects of cultural history. These exhibitions are mainly drawn from the museum's extensive storage holdings and supplemented with loans. In other rooms on the first floor, which are directly accessible from the inner courtyard, exhibitions of contemporary art, primarily by regional artists, are also regularly presented.
shown.